Turned a Corner
by Stellarise
Summary: Edward has been angry for over 100 years. He finds his family's tolerance unbearable - nobody understands him. As a result, he puts a false pretense of haughtiness that scares most of his classmates. Well, at least, until he met Bella.
1. This strange, sad boy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

It's been a long time since they last saw him smile.

He observed them from the corner of his golden eyes and saw the same wistful looks. Even after more than a decade of him wallowing in misery, they still hoped that he would miraculously show some sign of happiness or, at the very least, contentment. But, to him, there was no blessing to be counted, the situation would never improve and there will never be silver lining in the dark clouds of his life, for the rest of eternity.

He knew they were concerned, all six of them. Yet, the fact that their encouraging smiles showed no signs of empathy just made him more bitter. Sure, killing humans was a monstrous act that none of the others condoned. But, _disapproval._ That was as far as their opinions on the matter go. They understood the need to resist murder, but nothing more, the others had a weaker sense of right and wrong.

On the other hand, Edward was raised to be a noble soldier. From a young age, he was taught to defend the weak and mercilessly destroy the despicable. He hated those who preyed on the innocent and helpless. And then, a cruel twist of fate had robbed him of his biological family and forced him to become the very thing he loathed. The worst part was that he actually became more unnatural and more deadly than the average thug lurking in the streets, the ones he used to despise. Cruelly and suddenly, he had become a threat to the human race he fought so hard to protect. Oh, cruel, cruel fate.

A "tut" sound made him look up. Esme, eyes full of worry, smiled knowingly at him. It was nothing too difficult; his bouts of melancholy were all too frequent. "_Cheer up, dear. Alice and the others have already left for school". _He heard her think.

Edward scowled in response and nodded. Carlisle's suggestion to live under the pretence of being a normal American family was in a bid to salvage whatever human characteristics they had left. After all, it was making lemonade out of life's lemons. How expectedly optimistic of Carlisle. "More like, 'when life hands you lemons, fuck life and bail'," Edward muttered under his breath. This charade he had to maintain was nothing more than a poor imitation of how life should have been. It was a constant stabbing reminder of how unnatural he was and how much effort he had to put in just to be considered _normal_.

***

"There's a new girl in our class today. This is Isabella Swan and I hope you will all make her feel comfortable in Forks", the Biology teacher introduced in the first lesson of the day. That was all Edward caught before he was lost in his own thoughts again. High school becomes unfulfilling after one has attended tens of times, all hormonal teenagers experienced the same few problems, only the names and faces change. Edward barely noticed the girl moving to take her seat, he hardly cared when the teacher announced the new Biology group project and his mind wandered into nothingness just as the groups were assigned.

It was only when he felt the tap on his shoulder that finally distracted him from monotonously taking down the instructions from the board. He turned, bored, to face the stranger. "Hi, I'm Bella!" she exclaimed, a huge grin on her fair face as she extended her hand for a handshake. Judging from her overwhelming friendliness, the new girl was obviously unaware of the Cullens' notorious reputation. Edward glanced uninterestedly in her direction and heard the anxious thoughts of the three other classmates huddling behind the oblivious newbie.

"_Oh my god, what are we going to do?! He looks murderous._"

"_Shoot, we barely had a chance to warn Bella."_

"_I can't look!" _

Edward rolled his eyes and resumed his note-taking. He knew he hurt her feelings, though it puzzled him slightly that he could not hear her thoughts. Whatever it is, touching her would have been a mistake. His cool skin would surely give his secret away. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the three students hurriedly pull the new girl away but he could not care less about their whispered warnings or their increasingly frightened thoughts.

***

The first day in a new school was always a blur. There were too many new faces to recognise, too many names to remember. The friendlier students helpfully dragged the new girl to her new classes and the teachers were all too willing to help her catch up with the rest of her classmates. Before she knew it, Bella was in her first ever recess of her brand new school. She liked the general atmosphere. The people who sat around her were nice enough to include her in their group conversations and she felt slightly guilty that she could not match their names and faces. She was pretty sure that there was a "Michael" and a "Jessica", possibly an "Eric". Nonetheless, she knew that smiling helped and she contributed to the chatter whenever she could.

Forks High School was no different to the one she attended in Phoenix, except for maybe the climate. Nothing really surprised her so far and the only lasting impression of anything was the strange boy she met in Biology. Based on the giggles and gossips of her new girl friends, it was a general consensus that this queer boy – Edward, was it? - was, by far, the most good looking, yet most unattainable, boy in school. Strangely enough, he did not share the same rugged, boyish looks that dominated the present-day entertainment scene or sports arena. He was extremely fair, to the point that it seemed as though his skin glittered, and this contrasted nicely with his bronze tousled hair. He had a well-defined jaw, sharp nose and the most interesting eyes. If he had lived in the 1800s, she was sure that he would have been labelled as 'a delicate beauty'.

In normal circumstances, she would have been offended by his rude behaviour. She had generously offered to be his friend and he had wordlessly snubbed her. The other girls claimed that he was 'arrogant' and 'conceited'. That would have been an obvious deduction from the way he kept his face emotionless and his jaw tightly set. But was he really? Somehow, in the brief moment that they exchanged glances, Bella was certain that there was an inexplicable sadness in his eyes. It was as though he saw his beauty and being as a burden rather than something he was proud of. Yes, she was sure of the sadness.

It piqued her curiosity. The chatter continued endlessly as she half-wondered if she would ever get an insight to the behaviour of this strange, sad boy.


	2. The murders

Thanks for all the reviews! (:

Please read and comment so I'd know where to improve. Hope you'll like it.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

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Edward really needed to control his anger.

He was on his way home from a stroll in the night, taking a break from the incessant buzzing of voices in his head that continued even when he was at home. It was about 1:30am in the morning, the time when sleazeballs hung around the streets with their cheap booze and cigarettes, so it was of no surprise to him when the voices became increasingly vulgar.

But it was then he heard the solitary, panicked thought that screamed in his head. He was sure that no one had actually screamed, but he was also certain that the girl whose thought he overheard was in trouble. The noble soldier in him took over.

Everything happened too quickly. He had let his emotions rule for those few brief moments and now the regret he felt was too much to bear. The girl was safe. She had passed out from shock and Edward had anonymously left her at the hospital. The scums, however, suffered a more unfortunate fate.

Edward had acted too fast, too fast for his own rational thought, too fast for Alice to warn or interfere. There was nothing left to do but 'tidy up' the mess. Carlisle had, as usual, acted with competency and quick efficiency after Edward called.

"How's the girl?" Carlisle questioned shortly after Edward had stepped back into the house.

"Just nervous shock. She passed out even before I got to those…" Edward gritted his teeth.

Carlisle nodded. "She shouldn't be a problem then, since she didn't witness anything."

Edward's hands balled up into fists.

"Jasper and Emmett took care of the bodies. I checked up their identities and I don't think anyone would notice their absence. Mostly just small-time thugs that don't have families." He continued.

The damage was all under control.

Esme was immediately by Edward's side, her arms around his waist in a reassuring manner. "See, honey, there was no harm done. Don't beat yourself up over it."

"Yeah, we all have our moments of irrationality…" Jasper had returned with Emmett. Their dirt-covered hands were evidence that the bodies had been buried.

"Except that Edward is the only with a conscience," Emmett snorted.

Edward's eyes squeezed shut. They were all _so_ patronising. It irritated more than it comforted him. He sucked in his breath and glared at his overly-concerned family.

Before another word could be said, Edward was out of the door towards his silver Volvo.

No one chased after him.

_Oh another one of his angst-ridden moments_. He heard them think almost simultaneously together.

***

In the car, Edward's mind raced with a thousand and one of his own thoughts.

Edward knew his family did not deserve the treatment he gave them. Everyday they put up with his many tantrums – all related to the dissatisfaction of his life and self – in a patient and understanding fashion. But that was where the problem lay. They were _too_ understanding.

Look at the incident that just took place. How can they be so flippant when deaths were involved? Human life was sacred and no amount of vile deeds warranted the taking of one's life by another. What was he thinking, trying to play god? Who was he kidding? His past actions were a million times worse than what those thugs planned to do. He was worse than them. He deserved to die more than they did.

And to think that no thought of criticism crossed his family's minds. Not righteous Carlisle, not innocent Alice, not even the judgmental Rosalie. It was so frustrating that his family happened to be the kindest vampires in the world. The humans around him all were too afraid of him to speak to him. No one could or would reprimand him.

Edward growled. If only someone could just berate him. Scream at him. Or even kill him.

That was it. He deserved to die.

Rid the world of one more vile individual, saving humanity. Yes, to die.

Unthinkingly, he swerved the high-speed vehicle into a tree.


	3. The wrecked car

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

Thanks for all the reviews. (:

School has started for me so it will take me a longer time to write.

Hope you enjoy the new chapter and do please review!

HEARTS.

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Edward dusted the glass shards off his lap and climbed out of the car.

He assessed the car's damage. The tree had practically sliced the Volvo's front into two, the windscreen had been shattered into a million smaller pieces and there was a hole in the car floor where he put his foot through when bracing himself.

The impact was pathetic. His skin had been too thick and his body too strong for even a scratch on him. Edward sighed. With things not go according to plan, he had to clear up the mess he created. It was so much easier to have just died.

"OH MY GOD. Are you out of your mind?!"

Edward turned in the direction of the offensive commenter. It was the new girl in school, the one whose thoughts he could not hear. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"That was the most reckless driving I have ever seen in my life. How did you even get a license? Oh my gosh. Are you insane? What were you thinking? Wait, are you drunk? Because I don't think a normal, mentally-competent person would do that…" she rambled on.

Edward did nothing but stare at her. Were it not for the fact that she had caught him off guard, the stare would have been an if-looks-could-kill glare.

Also, it was strangely interesting that he could hear more of the words from her mouth than from her mind. Humans were normally quiet around him but their minds were always be exploding with curious and frightened thoughts.

She took a breath and was prepared to launch into another tirade when she caught sight of the wrecked vehicle and changed her mind. Instead, she asked in a calmer tone, "Are you hurt in anyway?"

Her eyes scanned Edward's body up and down, then she circled around him, checking for signs of injury.

"How did you survive that?"

Resuming back to his discourteous ways, Edward ignored her question and replied with one that was sure to irritate her.

"Do I know you?"

Sure enough, her eyebrows creased with slight annoyance.

"I'm Bella Swan, we met in school earlier today. I'm in your bio project group, for goodness sake!"

"Tut." He replied dismissively.

"You haven't answered my questions."

Again, he ignored her, but this time, he turned to leave.

"What?! Excuse me for caring. Maybe you should have died." She yelled.

With his back facing Bella, Edward's mouth twitched as if he almost smiled.

_At least someone got it right for once_, he thought.

***

The police was called and Edward's parents were involved. Strangely enough, the matter was handled very quickly and hardly needed the help of any witnesses. It was as if the Cullens were trying to keep the whole issue hushed-up and as low profile as possible. This really puzzled Bella.

She had spent the rest of the night tossing and turning in bed. It was not that Edward's attitude bothered her, she already knew right from the first impression that bad manners were his trademark. But it was that he was so calm in the aftermath of the accident. She had guessed that the driver must have been drunk or clinically insane when the ear-splitting crash jolted her awake, yet after the conversation with Edward, he was clearly neither.

The only explanation was that he had intentionally smashed his car into the tree. Why would anyone be desperate enough to pull a stunt like that? Bella's life, with her parents' divorce, was not exactly perfect. But even then, she could not imagine the situation one must be in to even _contemplate _suicide. She wondered what might have driven Edward to consider taking his own life. Was it the same sadness that so haunted his eyes? The curiosity intensified. She wanted, no, _needed_ to know the soul behind the cool, haughty exterior that was Edward Cullen.

***

The sun's rays exploded across the sky, chasing away the fleeting darkness of night. Bella's eyes had barely rested, though the night's events seemed eons ago.

Predictably, the school buzzed vociferously about the accident. It was amazing how fast rumours spread. Also predictably, Bella was the centre of attention, questions spiralling from all directions. The students knew that the accident scene was meters away from Bella's front door and that Edward Cullen was involved. Since no one dared approach the pale-faced, conceited boy (and also because he had been mysteriously absent from school), Bella was the next reliable source.

In the middle of trigonometry, Angela, a gentle and sweet girl, had asked quietly about the incident and how it happened. Sleep-deprived Bella, who was now even more overwhelmingly exhausted from answering the repetitive questions, liked her new friend. It was someone she felt she could be close to. So for the first time that day, Bella decided to include her own commentary instead of merely giving a description of the facts. She shared with Angela what had bothered her and how she could not understand the rationale behind his actions.

Angela pursed her lips, deep in thought.

And then, "Bella, I don't think _why_ is the pertinent question here…"

Bella raised her eyebrows in surprise. It had not been the reaction she expected.

"I mean, based on what you described, Edward had smashed his car against a tree, unintentionally or intentionally. Isn't it extremely dubious how he managed to survive the crash _unscathed_?"

Bella gasped. She had, indeed, forgotten _that bit_.

She had spent the night fretting over Edward's emotional well-being it was as though somehow part of her just knew that he had some extraordinary ability to look after his physical self.

Why didn't it bother her that Edward had some unnatural superpower?

Why was she so much more concerned about his sadness?

That was weird. She bit her lip.


	4. The death posse

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

Sorry for the lack of updates. School is eating me alive. I haven't had a decent weekend the past month! Meh. ):

(If you're reading this, thank you so much for not giving up on me! This is a transition-ish chapter so it'll be quite short. I promise a much faster update next round!)

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It was a whole week before the rumours and the discussion of the accident ceased.

It was a whole week before Edward was ready to attend school again.

Or rather, Carlisle thought it best if Edward let the "school buzz die down first".

Again, no reproach. Just worried eyes and patient smiles.

It was unbelievably exasperating.

"Well, Carlisle will be glad that the accident is old news." Edward muttered to his siblings as they sauntered across the carpark. He had scanned the minds of every student. All but one. His eyes flickered towards an orange truck parked on the other end of the carpark. _Bella Swan_.

But it did not really bug him, some part of him knew she could be trusted.

"Haha, so what's the latest gossip then?" Emmett asked. Even though Emmett had not missed school the past few days, the Cullens were usually isolated from the school happenings. The students were too wary of the Cullens to even discuss assignments with them, let alone something as trivial as gossip.

"Apparently, Jessica Stanley is recruiting people for her death posse." The minds of most girls around were frantically preparing for their JS interviews. They all wanted to be part of the rich girl's clique.

As he thought of people's minds in general, Edward's eyes once more traced back to the orange pickup. He remembered her reaction towards the accident and how it had tickled him ever so slightly. Was she still upset with him? Will he see her in biology class today? His mind wandered.

Then, he stopped himself. What is the matter with him today? He hardly knew the girl. Nonetheless, he let his eyes stray.

After satisfying himself with the explanation that he was merely curious as to why he could not hear the girl's thoughts, he went back to providing details of the recruitment to his siblings. It was scarcely interesting information, but the Emmett, Alice, Rosalie and Jasper listened intently to his descriptions of the silly girls and their frivolous thoughts. Rarely did they see Edward in such an _almost_ good mood, especially so early in the morning. Something must have cheered him.

***

The almost upbeat Edward barely lasted one lesson before he sunk back into his usual slump. School affected people like that, but more so for a century old vampire stuck in a teenager's body forced to go through high school hell forever.

Edward had not even realised it was Biology until there was an impatient noise somewhat near on his right. He, however, knew immediately the source of the sound.

Bella had a habit of making him turn to face him when she needed to talk to him. It was the third time already. Certainly, quite amusing.

"So, we were told to go into our groups and discuss our project? You know, the one that was given out almost two weeks ago? It's due this week and we have no started," Bella said coolly. She was trying to be unfriendly, but failing miserably. It was a good enough attempt for a girl who did not have a drop of bad blood in her.

Before Edward could launch a smug retort, he was interrupted by a high-pitched irritatingly chirpy voice.

"I hope you don't mind, Edwar_ddd, _but I swopped groups with Angela so I could help Bella catch up with the biology workload." Jessica whined. This girl was trying to seem sweet but was failing as pathetically as Bella trying to be mean.

Of course, it did not really help her case if Edward could hear what she was really thinking. Not that it was hard to guess. _Shallow girls and their disgusting trophy-boyfriend fantasies_, Edward cursed inwardly.

It made him uncomfortable watching this devious girl wrap her well-manicured fingers around Bella's shoulders. The contrast between the Jessica's too-pink, Guess/Armani/high-end brands ensemble and Bella's simple jeans-and-tshirt outfit was almost too painful to take in.

"We could, like totally, do the project over at my house later this evening. I'll get the chef to prepare a ten-course meal and of course, I've got the latest software that will make getting an A+ a cinch! Really Bella, you should dress better, I could give you some of my clothes. I never wear them twice…"

Something was amiss here and Edward needed to know what.

***

Edward spent the next couple of hours trailing Jessica's train of thoughts around school. The task was not easy. She had been giving suggestions of weekend activities but they were nothing more than meaningless ways of flaunting her money. Every now and then, she seemed to note Bella's lack of enthusiasm – the girl had been incredibly quiet and only the occasional smiles she returned signalled that she was somewhat paying attention – and that was when Jessica revealed her true motives.

The boys in school had been going gaga over the new girl and Jessica needed to be back in the spotlight. She did not understand their silly infatuation with Bella. She dressed plainly and she looked like every other girl. On first glance, Edward had shared Jessica's sentiment. Bella did not seem extraordinary in any way. He had dismissed the other boys' opinions as fascination for the new, remembering their obsession with Rosalie and Alice when the Cullens had their first day.

But on the subsequent occasion, he noticed something different. Bella glowed when she was happy. Her face lit up easily and her bright smile was easily triggered. As a matter of fact, it was not just her smiles that were easily prompted, the girl was ruled by emotion.

Edward saw it now. How she had bravely approached him on the first day, despite the obvious dark aura surrounding him. How she had shouted at him, as mad as a hatter, during the accident, not even realising that he had so unnaturally escaped with no injuries. How he, rather sadistically, enjoyed provoking her just to see her reaction. The girl with her heart on her sleeves was just so interesting to observe.

Yet now, she had been uncharacteristically silent for the past couple of hours. Jessica was evidently the cause; her fake smiles and laughs, fake show of concern would suck anyone's energy dry. Even someone like Bella, who seemed as though she took no notice of Jessica's hypocrisy.

That girl only saw the good in people.

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I really hope that people have enjoyed this story so far! I know the chapters are short (thus making the story seem quite fragmented) but they're (slowly) increasing in length as my confidence in writing increases. Also, I started writing this based on the assumption that any kind soul who is reading this is as twilight-obsessed as I am. Therefore, unless an issue is tackled by this story, it remains true to the series.

I know the whole _mean girls_ thing is not very original. I just needed a catalyst to provoke Edward's protective side! And I wanted something less overt than _aah-accident-save-bella's-life_ way (at least for now), so when in doubt, turn to high school drama. (I noticed Lauren is usually portrayed as the rich bitch but I always thought Jessica's hypocrisy is so much more lethal than a couple of scathing remarks. Hence, bitchy, hypocritical Jessica.)

:D


	5. Crushed

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

This chapter is a continuation of the whole Jessica drama. It's pretty short but there is a brief exchange of words between E and B which I enjoyed writing.

I've already finished writing the next chapter and it'll be up soon! I just need to sort out some plot details.

Haven't had many reviews but I hope that the kind souls out there who are actually taking time off to read this like what they read. You, yes, you! (:

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**Chapter05: Crush-ed **

"Do you know what she wants from you?" Edward had intercepted Bella as she walked towards her locker, grabbing her by her arm and pulling her to the side of a less-crowded corridor.

He had spent the past hour debating against his conscience. His mind yelled out relentlessly, "Monster! Monster! You'll probably end up hurting her more than Jessica will." The clear divide of good and bad that he knew so well deterred him. Yet, some part of him – his heart? – made it exceptionally uncomfortable for him to see Jessica twist Bella around her pinky. He had to do something. Even if it was the first time he ever took the initiative to speak to a human.

"Do I know you?" Bella snapped. She used the same retort he had shoved in her face the last time she expressed concern towards him. A poor mimic. Her eyebrows may have been furrowed and her teeth clenched but her eyes betrayed her. They were twinkling mischievously, disclosing her actual emotions. Her false fury was almost laughable. Her reactions just made everything less sombre --

Edward blinked the distracting thoughts away.

***

"Look, I know you're still upset about the other night…" He cringed as he remembered. The look was painful. Something disturbed him.

Bella waved away his response. She did not need to know, especially when it hurt for him to explain. The need to protect him, to remove the sadness in his eyes was almost instinctive for her.

A brief moment of confusion flitted across his face before he went back to his agenda.

"She's not a good friend."

"And, you are one?" It made Edward grimace ever so slightly.

She laughed softly. She could tell Edward was terrible at this. It reminded her of Charlie. The Y chromosome must contain something that made 'caring' mission impossible. Nonetheless, she was quite touch at this unexpected display of friendliness. Her sixth sense was right, Edward, deep down, was a pretty decent guy.

"Technically, I don't even consider myself your fri—" Edward's smug yet playful eyes suddenly darkened. Something behind Bella had caught his attention and not in a good way.

Just as Bella was about to turn and see for herself, the high-pitched voice rang.

"There you are, Bella darling! Oh, and with our new groupmat_eee_!"

Edward frowned and muttered something irately under his breath.

***

_Dammit!_ He should have seen it coming. It was so obvious that anyone with an ounce of commonsense would have known. Yet, his logic had been clouded by his apprehension in approaching Bella. He had been, well, so unnecessarily absorbed with the latter's affairs that he had missed Jessica's other more worrying thoughts.

The thoughts that would have made avoiding this situation possible.

It was a tad too late now.

In one swift movement, Jessica had planted herself between Bella and Edward such that Bella was completely obscured. She motioned something behind her back and Bella took off with a small sad smile.

_Fuck. Was it so difficult for Alice to give some form of warning?_ He swore. He knew somewhere Alice was probably laughing at his vexation with the situation. His siblings always took sadistic pleasure in his failing love life.

***

"You are doing the right thing,"Bella chanted in her head. She was trying to convince herself that helping out a friend was always noble. But why did it feel so unsettling? She patted her chest in an attempt to rid of the nagging ache in her body. It did not work.

She sat by their usual lunch table with the usual group of friends, continually patting her chest after every regular interval. The 'gang' was waiting for their friend's good news, waiting to congratulate Jessica on attaining the unattainable boyfriend.

A loud wail signalled Jessica's arrival.

"OMG, how can he do this to me?! That insensitive pig."

Jessica walked towards the table, ignoring the stares from around the lunchroom. Her face was scrunched up but there were no tears. Nevertheless, upon catching sight of her friend, Bella immediately went to her side, arm around her waist.

"What happened?" Bella inquired.

"He…he… said I was ugly and stupid. That I was not good enough for the mighty Edward Cullen." Jessica breathed in between sobs. There were still no tears.

"He actually said that?! Who does he think he is?!" The loyalty for her friend swelled within Bella. No guy should ever get away for that, no matter how decent he seemed. He could have at least been more gentlemanly in his rejection. It was already so difficult for Jessica – a sensitive girl – to confess her feelings. How could Edward do such a thing?!

Bella scanned around the room and squinted in the direction of the Cullens' table. Edward's back was facing her but she could see the two other Cullen boys howling with laughter. How maddening!

Without another moment's hesitation, Bella snatched a glass of soda off her table, stormed across the room – the small Cullen girl with a pixie-like haircut gasped – and dumped its contents onto Edward Cullen's head.

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Another melodramatic chapter. :/

There were past reviewers who felt that Bella's reactions in my story aren't quite canon. The way I interpret Bella-of-the-series is that although she is a shy, quiet girl who hates attention, she is one that lets her heart rule her head. She's a passionate girl who was ever so ready to become a vampire because her heart told her so. It was only much later, after Edward's reminders, did she realise the gravity of the issue and its severe consequences. I place a stronger emphasis on this aspect of Bella because it's the part of her I respect the most. To me, life cannot be a pros-and-cons balancing thing; the rational thing to do might be the best decision but it might not be the right one.

Especially when it comes to something like love.

Love is unexpected, unpredictable, uncontrollable and unbearable. :)

I hope this better explains my take on Bella!


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